This week in 1942, an act of Congress made it possible for women to enlist for noncombat duties in what became known as the Women’s Army Corps. Its members were called “WACS”. At the time, only single women could join and they were prohibited from either smoking while walking or chewing gum in public. The other services soon followed suit with the WAVES, WAFS and SPARS, and women served in a wide variety of roles, from flight instructor to analyzing intelligence. In 1978, women were integrated into the regular Army, where today there are 11-thousand women officers and 62-thousand enlisted personnel on active duty. Across the U.S., there are more than 25-million veterans of the Armed Forces, about 6.5 percent of them women. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at www.census.gov

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Nearly 59 years after the end of the war, the National World War II Memorial will be dedicated in Washington, D.C., tomorrow. The celebration on the National Mall tops an 11-year effort to honor the generation that won World War II, defeating the axis powers bent on dominating the world. The official dedication begins today and lasts through Monday, and includes a reunion of veterans on the mall, a service at the Washington National Cathedral and an entertainment salute. There are nearly 4.8-million surviving veterans of World War II — those left of the more than 16-million who served in the armed forces. In the war, 292-thousand died in battle and another 671-thousand were wounded. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at www.census.gov.  

Memorial Day, the traditional start of the summer season and a day for family gatherings and sporting events. This year’s celebration takes on added meaning, with American troops facing hostile fire in Iraq. Memorial Day began in 1866 in Waterloo, New York, where flowers were placed on the graves of Union soldiers who died in battle — a practice that gave the holiday its first name, Decoration Day. From the Civil War through Vietnam, some 566-thousand U.S. service personnel have died in combat, more than half of them in World War II. Currently, there are 1.4-million men and women on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at www.census.gov.